[wisb] TX Rpt
- From: "Seegert, Greg" <gseegert@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2012 23:36:58 -0500
Wisbirders
Got back late last evening from 4+ days in S TX. There was a pretty good
variety of birds but the number of individuals seemed below average. There
were no new (for me) ABA birds reported so I concentrated on adding to my year
list.....added 40.
Saturday----Started the day by meeting Tom and Carol Sykes at Bentsen SP. They
mentioned that the number of birds there seemed noticeably lower than normal.
Here I got plain chachalaca, golden-fronted woodpecker, long-billed thrasher,
white-tipped dove, green jay, Inca dove, and great kiskadee, all birds that I
saw at most of my later stops. One of the first birds we saw was a green
kingfisher, my only one of the trip. Ditto for two olive sparrows. Also saw
one E screech owl. On our way to the next stop, Tom went into a part of
McAllen that often has green parakeets and indeed we found a noisy flock of
them. Next we went to Estero Llano Grande SP. This park had the best variety
of birds of any of the places I visited. Best birds here were clay-colored
thrush and fulvous whistling duck. Other FOY were mottled duck, paraque,
buff-bellied hummer, black-crested titmouse, and anhinga . Also present was a
good variety of ducks, least grebe , yellow-crowned night-heron, and another E
screech owl. After the Sykes left, I went to a place in Hidalgo and found the
monk parakeet nest they mentioned. I tried Anzalduas Co Park for Sprague's
pipits but dipped. Late that day, I tried for Red-crowned parrots in Weslaco,
but dipped on them also.
Sunday----Today I headed upriver. At Salineno, I found ringed kingfisher,
Altamira oriole, and Audubon's oriole, but dipped on red-billed pigeons and
Muscovy ducks. I spent the rest of the day looking for white-collared
seedeaters. Near the library in Zapata the best bird I could find was
vermilion flycatcher. In San Ygnacio, I again dipped on seedeaters with the
only "good" bird being a heard only white-eyed vireo. In Laredo I again dipped
for seedeaters at N Central Park. My last stop was Las Palmas Trail along the
river in Laredo. I was about 5 min from giving up when I found 2 female
seedeaters.
Monday----Went N of Harlingen, mainly looking for Sprague's pipits and
white-tailed hawks. Found those two but dipped on a couple of other spp that
are long-shots in that area. I stopped at Resaca de la Palma SP where Couch's
kingbird had been reported a few days before. The park was closed but you
could walk in. I was the only person there. Very few birds. Best were
white-tailed hawk and white-tailed kite. Also saw a mother bobcat with a
half-grown youngster. Final stop was Olivera Park in Brownsville. Here I
found a kingbird but it would not call so I had to leave it as Couch's/
Tropical. At dusk about 200 red-crowned parrots came in to roost. Along with
them were two yellow-headed parrots. Not countable but nice to see nonetheless.
Tuesday----Spent the day on S Padre Island. I had a list of 13 spp that I
thought I had a reasonable shot at and another 3 spp that were long shots. On
the way to the island, where Rt 48 crosses an arm of the bay, I had A
oystercatcher, gull-billed tern, laughing gull, black skimmer, tricolored
heron, and roseate spoonbill. On the island I added little blue heron, reddish
egret, white ibis, piping plover, sandwich tern, and royal tern. That gave me
12 of the 13 expected spp by 1030. I spent another 3.5 hrs looking for the
13th sp (clapper rail) and any rarities but dipped on all of them.
Wednesday---Went back out to the pipit area hoping for a better look. I saw
one, probably two but again only got brief looks. Went back to Estero Llano
Grande for my last stop before heading to the airport. Here I again dipped on
the infrequently seen rose-breasted becard. I did see barn owl and added my
40th FOY, a blue-headed vireo.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Next week I go to west-central NE on business. Won't have much time to bird
but may luck into another FOY.
Greg Seegert
Beaver Dam and Deerfield (IL)
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